Keeping The Rythm
by Barbara McMahon
Title
Keeping The Rythm
Artist
Barbara McMahon
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
A dragon boat (also dragonboat) is a human-powered watercraft traditionally made in the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province out of teak wood to various designs and sizes. In other parts of China different woods are used to build these traditional watercraft. It is one of a family of Traditional Paddled Long Boats found throughout Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. Currently, boats are being made, for competitive purposes, out of carbon fiber and other light materials. Dragonboats are the basis of the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing an amateur watersport which has its roots in an ancient folk ritual of contending villagers held over the past 2000 years throughout southern China. While 'competition' has taken place annually for more than 20 centuries as part of religious ceremonies and folk customs, dragon boat racing has emerged in modern times as an international sport, beginning in Hong Kong in 1976. But the history of dragon boats in competition reaches as far back as the same era as the original games of Olympia in ancient Greece. Both dragon boat racing and the ancient Olympiad included aspects of religious observances and community celebrations along with competition.
For competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails. At other times such as training the decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for practice by drummers.
Dragon boat races are traditionally held as part of the annual Duanwu Festival or Duen Ng observance in China. 19th-century European observers of the racing ritual, not understanding the significance of Duanwu, referred to the spectacle as a "dragon boat festival". This is the term that has become known in the West.
Uploaded
January 7th, 2014
Statistics
Viewed 224 Times - Last Visitor from Amherst, MA on 04/17/2024 at 8:06 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet